Robert J. Marquis

Email: robert_marquis@umsl.edu
Telephone: 314-516-6213

Research Interests

The focus of my research is the community and evolutionary ecology of plant resistance and tritrophic interactions in terrestrial plant-herbivore systems. Plant resistance to herbivores is a set of complex traits, some or all of which influence the impact of individual herbivore species on plant fitness. However, almost every plant species interacts with a number of herbivore species. In turn, those herbivore species are influenced by their own natural enemies. Therefore, understanding the evolution of plant resistance requires in part a community-level, tritrophic approach. Furthermore, interactions amongst herbivore species themselves, whether competitive or mutualistic, can be mediated through their use of the host plant as a resource. The influence of plant traits on such interactions and on herbivore community structure, and their resultant impact on damage to the plant, are subjects of my current experimentation. Thus, my research focuses on the interaction between host plant traits and the community of insects associated with the plant, their interactions with their natural enemies, and interactions amongst the herbivores themselves, all as they affect plant fitness components.

My current projects include the study of importance of plant traits on the impacts of leaf-tying caterpillars on arthropod structure of Missouri oaks, evolution of plant resistance traits in the ant-tended Chamaecrista fasciculata, the impact of plant phylogeny on herbivore and associated parasitoid communities of Canadian trees, and the influence of latitude versus phylogeny on leaf and wood traits of woody plant species. In addition, I have been sampling herbivorous insects on oaks since 1991 as part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP). The goal of this project is to determine the longterm impacts of forest management on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Lab Group

Nick Barber (B.S. St. Louis University): Ph.D. thesis: Interactions among insectivorous birds, herbivorous insects, and leaf chemistry of Quercus.

Beatriz Baker (B.S. Universidade de Brasilia): Ph.D. thesis: Contribution of herbivores, ants, and pollinators to speciation in the Brazilian Chamaecrista desvauxii.

Humberto Dutra (B.S. and M.S., Universidade de Campinas, Brazil): Ph.D. thesis: Effects of the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii on plant-animal interactions in the invaded habitat.

John Flunker (B.S. University of Missouri St. Louis): M.S. thesis: Tradeoffs in resistance traits in Chamaecrista fasciculata.

Banak Gamui (B.S. Papua New Guinea): M.S. research project: Contribution of early season damage and topography to attack of Quercus alba by leaf-tying caterpillars.

John Landosky (Post doc; Ph.D. Western Michigan University): Effect of forest management on Missouri Ozark oak herbivore populations; late-spring freeze effects on plant growth and leaf quality in Quercus.

Recent Publications

Mass, A., and R. J. Marquis. The local and landscape impact of alternative timber extraction regimes on dung beetle diversity in Missouri Ozark forests. (in press, Forest Ecology and Management).

Rios, R., R. J. Marquis, and J. T. Flunker. Population divergence in ant-mediated defense traits in Chamaecrista fasciculata (Fabaceae). (in press, Oecologia).

Whelan, C. J., D. Wenny, and R. J. Marquis. Ecosystem services provided by birds. (in press, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences).

Forkner, R. E., R. J. Marquis, J. T. Lill, and J. Le Corff. 2008. Timing is everything? Phenological synchrony and population variability in leaf-chewing herbivores of Quercus. Ecological Entomology 33:276-285.

Abdala, L., and R. J. Marquis. 2007. Local adaptation based on biotic interactions and soil abiotic conditions in the ant-tended Chamaecrista fasciculata (Fabaceae). Oecologia 154: 315-326.

Dyer, L. A., M.S. Singer, J. T. Lill, J. O. Stireman III, G. L. Gentry, R. J. Marquis, R. E. Ricklefs, H. F. Greeney, D. L. Wagner, H. C. Morais, I. R. Diniz, T. A. Kursar, and P. D. Coley. 2007. Host specificity of Lepidoptera in tropical and temperate forests. Nature 448: 696-700.

Lill, J. T., and R. J. Marquis. 2007. Microhabitat manipulation: ecosystem engineering by shelter-building insects. In: K. M. D. Cuddington J. E. Byers, A. Hastings, and W. G. Wilson (eds.), Ecosystem engineers: concepts, theory, and applications in ecology, pp. 107- 138, Elsevier Press. San Diego, CA.

Lill, J. T., R. J. Marquis, M. A. Walker, and L. Peterson. 2007. Ecological consequences of shelter sharing by leaf-tying caterpillars. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 124: 45-53.

Mass, A., and R. J. Marquis. 2007. Dung beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) community response to clear-cutting in the Missouri Ozarks. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 80: 146-155.

Boege, K., and R. J. Marquis. 2006. Bottom-up and top-down forces mediated by plant ontogeny: consequences for herbivores and plants. Oikos 115:559-592.

Marquis, R.J., and J. T. Lill. 2006. Effect of herbivores as physical ecosystem engineers on plant-based trophic interaction webs. In: T. Ogushi, T. Craig, and P. Price (eds.), Ecological Communities: Plant Mediation in Indirect Interaction Webs, pp. 246-274, Cambridge University Press.

Lill, J.T., R. J. Marquis, R. E. Forkner, J. Le Corff, N. Holmberg, and N.A. Barber. 2006. Pubescence affects distribution and abundance of generalist slug caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae). Environmental Entomology 35: 797-806.

Jeffries, J., R. J. Marquis, and R.E. Forkner. 2006. Community composition, species richness, and abundance of oak herbivore insects in a chronoseries of temperate forest. Ecological Applications 16:901-912.

Forkner, R. E., R. J. Marquis, J. T. Lill, and J. Le Corff. 2006. Impacts of forest management on oak-feeding caterpillar populations in the Missouri Ozarks. Conservation Biology 20:429-440.

Marquis, R. J. 2005. Herbivore impacts on tropical plant diversity. In: D. Burslem, M. Pinard, and S. Hartley. (eds.) pp. 328-346. Biotic interactions in the tropics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Stireman, J. O. III, L. A. Dyer, D. H. Janzen, M. S. Singer, J. T. Lill, R. J. Marquis, R. E. Ricklefs, G L. Gentry, W. Hallwachs, P. D. Coley, J. A. Barone, J. F. Greeney, H. Connahs, H. C. Morais, and I. R. Diniz. 2005. Climate unpredictability and parasitism of caterpillars: Implications of global warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102: 17384-17387.

Boege, K., and R. J. Marquis. 2005. Facing herbivory as you grow up: the ontogeny of resistance in plants. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20:441-448.

Marquis, R. J. 2005. Herbivore impacts on tropical plant diversity. In: D. Burslem, M. Pinard, and S. Hartley. (eds.) Biotic interactions in the tropics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, in pp. 328-346.

Jaramillo, M. A., and R. J. Marquis. 2004. Future research in Piper. In: L. Dyer (ed.), Piper. Amodel genus for studies of chemistry, ecology, and evolution. (in press). Kluwer Academic Press, pp. 199-203.

Marquis, R. J. 2004. The biogeography of Neotropical Piper.In: L. Dyer (ed.), Piper. A model genus for studies of chemistry, ecology, and evolution. (in press). Kluwer Academic Press, pp. 78-96.

Marquis, R. J. 2004. Herbivores rule. Science 305:619-621.

Forkner, R.E., and R. J. Marquis. 2004. Uneven-aged and even-aged logging alter foliar phenolics of oak trees remaining in forested habitat matrix. Forest Ecology and Management 199:21-32.

Lill, J. T., and R. J. Marquis. 2004. Leaf ties as colonization sites for forest arthropods. Ecological Entomology 29: 300-308.

Marquis, R. J. Piperales. 2004. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. (in press).

Forkner, R., R. J. Marquis, and J. T. Lill. 2004. Feeny revisited: Condensed tannins as anti-herbivore defenses in leaf-chewing herbivore communities of Quercus. Ecological Entomology 29: 174-187.

Hochwender, C. G., V. L. Sork, and R. J. Marquis. 2003. Fitness consequences of herbivory on Quercus alba. American Midland Naturalist 150:246-253.

Lill, J. T., and R. J. Marquis. 2003. Ecosystem engineering by caterpillars increases insect herbivore diversity on white oak. Ecology 84: 682-690.

Marquis, R. J., R. Forkner, J. T. Lill, and J. Le Corff. 2002. Impact of timber harvesting on species accumulation curves for oak herbivore communities of the Missouri Ozarks, pp. 184-196. In: S. R. Shifley and J. M. Kabrick (eds.). Proceedings of the Second Missouri Oak Forest Ecosystem Project Symposium: Post-treatment results of the landscape experiment. General Technical Report, USDA Forest Service, North Central Experiment Station, NC-227.

Oliveira, P. S., and R. J. Marquis (eds.). 2002. Ecology and natural history of a neotropical savanna: The cerrados of Brazil. Columbia University Press.

Marquis, R. J., J. T. Lill, and A. Piccinni. 2002. Effect of plant architecture on colonization and damage by leaf-tying caterpillars of Quercus alba. Oikos 99:531- 537.

Lill, J. T., R. J. Marquis, and R. E. Ricklefs. 2002. Host plants influence parasitism of forest caterpillars. Nature 417: 170-173.

Oliveira, P., and R. J. Marquis. 2002. Introduction: development of research in the cerrados. In: P. Oliveira and R. J. Marquis (eds.). Ecology and natural history of a neotropical savanna: the cerrados of Brazil, pp. 1-10. Columbia University Press.

Marquis, R. J., H. Morais, and I. Diniz. 2002. Interactions between Cerrado plants and their herbivores: unique or typical? In: P. Oliveira and R. J. Marquis (eds.). Ecology and natural history of a neotropical savanna: the cerrados of Brazil, pp. 306-328. Columbia University Press.

Marquis, R. J., and R. Dirzo. 2002. Tropical foundations in coevolution. In: R. Chazdon and T. C. Whitmore (eds.). Foundations of tropical forest biology. Classic papers with commentaries, pp. 339-347. University of Chicago Press.

Gram, W. K., V. L. Sork, R. J. Marquis, R. B. Renken, R. L. Clawson, J. Faaborg, D. K. Fantz, J. Le Corff, J. T. Lill, and P. A. Porneluzi. 2001. Evaluating the effects of ecosystem management: a case study in a Missouri Ozark forest. Ecological Applications 11: 1667-1679.

Lill, J. T., and R. J. Marquis. 2001. The effects of leaf quality on herbivore fitness and attack from natural enemies. Oecologia 126: 418-428.

Marquis, R. J., H. Morais, and I. Diniz. 2001. Patterns and correlates of interspecific leaf damage by insects and pathogens in Brazilian cerrado. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17: 1-23.

Le Corff, J., R. J. Marquis, and J. B. Whitfield. 2000. Temporal and spatial variation in a parasitoid community associated with the herbivores that feed on Missouri Quercus. Environmental Entomology 29: 181-194.

Stowe, K. A., R. J. Marquis, C. Hochwender, and E. L. Simms. 2000. Plant tolerance to herbivory and disease. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31: 565-595.

Mothershead, K. M., and R. J. Marquis. 2000. Indirect effects of leaf herbivores on plant-pollinator interactions in Oenothera macrocarpa (Onagraceae). Ecology 81: 30-40.

Hochwender, C., R. J. Marquis, and K. Stowe. 2000. The potential for and constraints on the evolution of compensatory ability in Asclepias syriaca. Oecologia 122: 361- 370.